He has not scored since September, 10 games ago, but his manager reckons the new year brings the best out of him.

Benteke, 23, grabbed 14 goals in 19 appearances in the second half of last term, including a ­stunning hat-trick against today’s hosts.

Lambert said: “His return is a boost, as is his presence.

“Christian’s a young guy. Everyone put him on a pedestal and thought he was fantastic – but you don’t want people to do that as he has years to go.

“He will have spells where he doesn’t perform and his confidence will suffer along with every other young player. They lose confidence quicker than experienced lads.

“If he comes back and does what he did at the turn of the year last year he will kick on again and have another massive impact.

“It’s against Sunderland again, which is where he kicked in last year. His presence is a big factor.”

(Image: Neville Williams)

Beneteke returned quickly from his original hip problem in October before his knee injury a couple of weeks ago.

But Lambert dismissed claims his return was rushed.

He said: “No he did not come back sooner than he should because he felt good.

“You can only put him out there and see if he’s good. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago he felt a bit of pain.

“Hopefully that’s cleared up now. I think he will be OK.”

Villa have collected just one point from their last five games and Lambert is desperate for skipper Ron Vlaar to shake a calf problem because injuries and suspensions have left him short in central defence.

Lambert said: “We will see how he does in training. We only have one centre-half at the moment.”